Cherry Blossoms and Lotus Petals
by systematic honey
Summary: New students, new teachers, new friends. Old students, old teachers, old rivalries…new romance? Love, Gossip, Angst, Nosebleeds, with a TWIST! Just your typical High School fic! NOT. Pairings inside. DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I hate disclaimers. It's OBVIOUS that we don't own Naruto, or else we'd be too busy drawing our asses off for the deadline! We'd have no time for fanfiction!

**Opening Thingy**

star wars opening music plays

Welcome to…

**Cherry Blossoms and Lotus Petals**

All of you: "What! ANOTHER High School fic!"

Eheh. I couldn't resist. High school fics are my thing.

**My flame policy**: you flame me, I flame you. Simple. So NO FLAMES. Constructive criticism is ok.

**Summary**: New students, new teachers, new friends. Old students, old teachers, old rivalries…new romance? Love, Gossip, Angst, Nosebleeds, and some Surprising Twists! Just your typical High School fic! (NOT)

**Pairings(definite)**: SasuSaku, NejiTen, NaruHina. (ShikaTem also, if anybody wants it.)

**Warnings of stuff**: Ok, you all know this is an AU fic. There are some OC's, but don't worry, I won't make their parts big. Also OOCness, but nothing really severe and character-ruining…NO yaoi, NO yuri! I have some religious issues with them, but I'm not homo-phobic or whatever. C'mon, I even have gay friends! Ok, enough rambling. Let's get on with the SHOW! (err, fanfic…)

**Prologue: The Haruno Family History**

We now introduce the main characters of this story. Be prepared.

* * *

I should start with the beautiful, oddly pink-haired Haruno Sakura. Let's begin…from the beginning of her life.

Haruno Sasaki, Sakura's mother, died in childbirth. As soon as her little girl came wailing out of her body, Haruno Sasaki smiled lightly upon her daughter's face, even though the doctor said she lost too much blood and "there wasn't much time left". The worst thing you can hear from a doctor. With her last dying breath, she spoke her child's name.

"You are…S-Sakura…after my favorite tree…I love you, darling…"

Sakura's woeful father, Haruno Nobutaro, went into a depressive slump for two years after his wife had died. During that time, he hired a young widow named Mingmei Hua Lien to look after his daughter. Hua Lien had a daughter named Tenten, a tomboyish brunette even at three, and often brought her over to the Haruno house to play with Sakura. The two instantly became friends and were often seen playing together.

One night, the 29-year-old Haruno Nobutaro was about to commit suicide. As he held the knife to his throat, prepared to end his life, none other than Hua Lien came rushing through the front door, saying she had forgotten something and she was so sorry that—

"H-Haruno-san! What are you doing?" she gasped, "Stop! Think about your daughter!"

Nobutaro lowered the knife at Hua Lien's words. The woman stared at him with great fear and concern.

"Hua Lien…" he said simply. "You…"

"Please, Haruno-san," she said, "How do you think Sakura would feel if her only living parent died as well? Do you want to make your daughter an orphan?"

Nobutaro stared at her for a while. He slowly nodded his head from left to right.

"So, Haruno-san…please put down the knife. I can help you--I can help you get back on your feet again…I also want the best for Sakura…she's like my second daughter…"

There was a moment's silence. Then, Haruno Nobutaro dropped the knife to the floor and fell to his knees, hands in his face. Hua Lien walked over to him, consoling the greiving man.

Twelve months later, Mingmei Hua Lien became Haruno Hua Lien.

It was a happy marriage of two kindred souls. Each lost a loved one early in their first marriage. Sakura and Tenten couldn't be more delighted.

Then, there came the issue of school. Sakura and Tenten attended the same school, in the same class in both pre-school and kindergarten.

Being short on money at the time after kindergarten, and Hua Lien having a teaching degree, the parents decided to homeschool their daughters. It was a bonus because the girls spent all their time at home, and were not exposed to the "dangers", Nobutaro called it, of public school. And the two girls had no problem with it. All they needed was each other.

Unexposed to the world of pop music, celebrities, and fashion, the two grew up cultured and artistic, thanks to their parents' guidance.

Sakura LOVED to read. She started reading children's books alone at age five. When she was seven, she entered a cute little short story into a contest competing with private-school children, and won first prize. This delighted her parents, and they commented that she could be a great writer someday. After some deep thinking for a seven-year-old, Sakura decided that she would be a writer. She would be a novelist and a poet. Her parents loved the idea. From then on, she always carried around a green notebook and blue fountain pen, just in case inspiration struck.

On the other hand, TentenCOULDN'T STOPdrawing. From the age of five as well, she could draw a lotus flower from the pondin great detail. She entered a painting in a contest at age seven, and won first prize like her sister. Her parents encouraged her talent, and said it would be magnificent if they had an artist in the family, as well as a writer. There was always a pencil in her hand and a sheet of paper within 2 feet of her. Tenten carried around a leaf-green tote bag with the chinese symbols for success embroidered on it. It had all of her pencils, pens, sketches, etc. inside of it.

But the two prodigies didn't stop there. Pleasing their parents more, they both took up music. Sakura loved to play classic guitar, and Tenten was a natural at the piano. Every night, they played pieces by the greatest composers for their parents. They even wrote a few of their own songs.

One day, the tomboyish Tenten discovered karate.  
When she was six, she saw an article in the newspaper about a ten-year-old boy winning the national karate tournament. Puzzled by the picture of a boy in a white outfit looking tough, she asked her father, who was in the room, about it. There was also a picture of the boy kicking an older man in the stomach, while the man looked to be in great pain.

"Otou-san! Otou-san!" she said, "What is this? Isn't fighting a bad thing?"

Looking over at the article, Nobutaro laughed. "No, Tenten, not in this case. These people train their bodies to do extraordinary things. They are able to defend those they care about by learning fighting techniques in the Martial Arts."

Hearing the word "arts" and learning that this kind of fighting was ok, Tenten's face lightened. "Oooh! I wanna do that! Can I?"

Surprised to hear this, but also thinking that Martial Arts was a good form of discipline for his child, Nobutaro signed Tenten up for classes in the nearest academy.

Two weeks later, Tenten taught the neighborhood bully a lesson.

"That's what you get for making fun of my sister!" she yelled after the boy. All she really did was show off a few beginner kicks and strikes, not even hitting anything. However, as soon as the boy saw them, along with hearing her yells of "hyaa!", he ran off crying.

Sakura stared up at her sister and decided to take karate, too. She became almost as good as her sister was. They were now, at age 16, almost ready to obtain their black belts.

So…we now have here two young girls, both beautiful, intelligent, creative, and talented. They both play music _and_ can defend themselves readily in combat. They were both home-schooled most of their lives. They are the moon and sun and sheer pride of their parents' lives.

Perfect life?

…

not anymore!

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

Woot! Prologue finished! Don't worry, I'll get to the actual High School in the next few chapters. I do need an introduction!

Don't you just HATE Sakura and Tenten right now? They are like, tooo perfect, haha. It'll get better(and more realistic), I promise!  
I wont expect lots of reviews, of course, this is only the prologue. Chapter One will be up in at most a day! Ok? Tenk yuu!

**Preview of 1st Chapter:**

_Cherry blossoms fall _

_Softly, silently_

_Upon the lotus pond_

_Mixing in with the white flowers_

_And crystal waters_

Tsune


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Peaceful Valley!

**Disclaimer**: See Prologue for my disclaimer, summary, pairings, and warnings. 

**Extra Warning**: I don't like Ino much. I don't HATE her, but I don't LOVE her either. That's why I won't put her in this fic. Cause if she was in here, she'd be either a boring side character with no pairing, or an evil mean girl. So no Ino. Sorry, Ino fans! Anyway, after some thinking, I decided against doing a ShikaTem anyway. Too many pairings for this story, if you ask me…

**Opening Thingy**

Wow, so many reviews for a prologue! Should I be proud? I'm having a blast writing this fic. I'm almost done writing chapter two, so it should be up pretty soon. The title of the story is explained in this chapter. We finally get to see Sakura and Tenten's personalities…more Tenten in this chapter, though. Yay for Tenten fans! CHANGE: Sakura and Tenten are 15, not 16 like I said in the prologue. So they are gonna be freshmen. Okey?

Anyway, here's the long-awaited Chapter One!

**Guide to text**:

Blah regular text

"Blah" talking or a title of something

_Blah _thinking, or one of Sakura's poems

**Blah **emphasized word

(Like you needed to know…)

**Chapter One: Welcome to Peaceful Valley!**

* * *

_Cherry blossoms fall_

_Softly, silently_

_Upon the lotus pond_

_Mixing in with the white flowers_

_And crystal waters_

_Paradise_

Sakura finished the end of the poem by giving the "e" a long tail with a flick of the wrist. She looked out from her back porch at the lotus pond a few yards away. She then gazed at the cherry tree beside it and sighed heavily.

_My tree._

Ever since she was small, Sakura's father had called that tree "Sakura's Tree". Of course, it was not because of the blossoms, but because of his daughter.

"Sasaki loved that tree," he said to her, "but she loved you even more."

Sadly, Sakura really didn't have any attachment to her birth mother. She had only reverence to Sasaki's memory, for her father's sake. The only person she really called "mother" was Hua Lien…

Thoughts drifting away from her parents, Sakura focused once again on the cherry tree. She reminisced of her childhood years, climbing up the branches, sleeping next to the trunk, while the blossoms fell softly upon her, mixing with her pink hair. Her sister Tenten would be near to her, lying next to the lotus pond, "Tenten's Pond", gazing at the pure white lotuses and the water's crystal surface.

Sakura's Tree and Tenten's Pond. Sources of inspiration…

Sakura now eyed her sister, sitting at the edge of the water, sketching smoothly and gracefully in her sketchbook. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, strands of chocolate hair falling in front of her face.

The pink-haired girl walked down the stairs of her porch and went up to the cherry tree. Sighing heavily yet again, she sat down with her back against the trunk and gazed up into the tree's pink branches. She stared for a long time, savoring the moment.

It was quiet for a long time. No wind, not even the sound of water rippling.

Stillness.

Slowly, Sakura looked back down and directly at her sister. Tenten was looking at her as well, each sharing the same sad expression.

In unison, the girls went back to their works and wrote a title.

"Last Glance" by Haruno Sakura. The poem describing her favorite place.

"Last Glance" by Haruno Tenten. It was a landscape of her favorite place.

"Sakura! Tenten! It's time to go, girls!" they heard their mother call from their house.

"We're leaving in 5 minutes! Please get ready!" their father called as well.

The two found it hard to get up. They couldn't stop thinking about leaving their precious home for a new one, their childhood sanctuary…their sources of inspiration!

But they had to obey their parents. Sakura got up and picked a single blossom from the tree and kissed it softly. The petals fell apart and a small breeze carried them gently to the pond.

Tenten picked the nearest flower from the pond. She also kissed it softly, and spread the white petals across her pond. They mixed with the cherry blossoms, pink and white.

"Come on, Sakura," Tenten said sadly, "We really have to go now."

"Sayonara, my beautiful tree…" Sakura said.

"Sayonara, my beloved lotuses…" Tenten said.

With a last fleeting glance at their favorite spot, the two left the yard to join their parents.

**About a Day Later…**

Tenten had decided that the drive wasn't **too** bad. Apart from her mother fainting after seeing how high up they were, Tenten found the mountains to be a beautiful and peaceful place. Great for artistic minds! Since they were going to be living in a city called Peaceful Valley, and was located in a valley amongst three mountains, she could probably find loads of artists like her in town! Sakura also liked the mountains. She said they were in an excellent novel-writing environment.

_There has to be _someone_ here with a kindred soul to mine_, both of them thought resolutely.

The family of four drove up to a large, gated community. The sign read "Tranquil Creek Manors". Sakura and Tenten could see the mansions from far away outside the gate.

"We're living HERE?" Tenten asked. Their father nodded.

After a bit of driving around the neighborhood looking for 441 Serenity Lane, the car stopped in front of a large, Tudor mansion with a well-kept front yard at the end of the cal-de-sac(sp?).

"This is it?" Sakura exclaimed, "It's so big!"

"Huge!" said Tenten.

"Gigantic!"

"Gargantuan!"

"That's enough, girls," their father said, laughing, "Since we haven't been sending you to main-stream school, I haven't had to pay much supply-wise, and my company's been doing pretty well for the past 10 years..."

"Why didn't you tell us we were wealthy?" Sakura asked. Tenten nodded.

"We thought it might go to your heads, but since you're both fifteen now, we think you're ready to handle that fact." Hua Lien smiled.

The two girls grinned and stepped out of their car. The house loomed over them in splendor. It was the largest one on the street.

"S-sugoi…" they said in unison.

"I think you'll find lots of inspiration here," their mother said, hugging them.

The two perfect 15-year-olds returned the hug and ran into the house to find their rooms.

Sakura fell upon her light pink bed with a flop and dreamily looked at the ceiling.

"I still miss my tree…" she said as she drifted off to sleep, "but this might not be so bad after all…"

Tenten, comfortable in her green-and-white colored bedroom, looked outside her window. She could see children at play in the neighborhood park, and even some teens her age at the edge of Serenity Lane. They were laughing and chatting, and sometimes glancing at the large house at the end of the street. One of them, a stick-like blonde girl (with obvious highlights) suddenly glared at Tenten. Feeling a chill, Tenten ducked aside so as not to be seen through the window. That girl, those electric blue eyes, that cold stare…she was scary!

Shaking aside the weird feeling, Tenten waited for the girls to leave before she went outside. When she was sure that they were gone, she decided to step out and get some fresh air, while maybe finding a new friend in the neighborhood.

For about 15 minutes she walked around, looking for signs of anyone outside. For those 15 minutes, she found no one.

"Does everyone here just stay cooped up in their houses? Where is everybody?" she said to herself aloud.

"Well **normal** kids are usually at the mall right now," she heard a voice say.

Tenten whirled around and came face-to-face with a boy. Surprised, she stepped backward and got a better look at him.

He was staring straight at her, arms crossed and a frown on his face. His long hair was tied in a loose ponytail and he had a single gold stud earring on the cartilage of his right ear. He wore a cream-white button up shirt with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows, showing his toned arms. His collar was unbuttoned, as well as a few down from there. His coffee-colored undershirt was showing through the opening. His baggy pants were dark brown, like his hair, and slightly covered his heavy black shoes.

But what surprised Tenten the most were his eyes. They were pale and white, with no pupils. They made him look like he could see right through you, and just made him look even colder with the expression on his face.

He took a step forward. Tenten took a step back. She wasn't sure what to do. Run away? Confront him? Fight him? Her mind froze. She had never really spoken to a boy her age **alone** before…

"Wh-who are you?" she said unconsciously.

Tenten mentally slapped herself for asking something stupid like that. The boy looked at her haughtily. She felt a chill, like he was really looking through her, reading her mind…

"Hyuuga Neji." He answered, to her surprise. "Now I'm going to ask **you** a question."

Tenten nodded weakly. It wasn't a request, it was a command.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

Tenten raised her eyebrows, wondering if she heard correctly. She glanced at her outfit and then looked back at him.

Dark green silk Chinese shirt, once belonging to her mother. A flowing, black, layered skirt that went to her knees, that she and Sakura had actually made themselves. Lace-up black boots that stopped halfway up her calf. Black lace gloves that had finger-holes. Dark green nail polish. Her arms were covered in bracelets and bangles. Her tote bag was slung over her arm. Finally, two loose buns on her head, a black rose clip adorning one of them.

"A-anou…Is there something wrong with the way I dress?" Tenten asked hesitantly.

The boy took another step forward. Tenten took another step back.

"You look like a freak." He stated, "Unless you wanna get mobbed by the locals, I suggest you go home and put on something **normal**."

"M-mobbed? What are you—"

"Go home. NOW. I'm doing you a favor just by talking to you. I myself might get mobbed for being within 20 feet of you."

Now Tenten was frustrated. She didn't want anymore of this confusion. She frowned and straightened.

"Listen," she said, "I have no idea what you are talking about. So leave me alone!"

Tenten positioned herself into her "ready for a fight" stance. If she had to fight this guy to make him go away, so be it. She had once put a guy into a 2-day coma after he got fresh with her at a grocery store, and she wasn't afraid to do it again to this one.

The boy in front of her only stepped closer. She stood her ground.

"You wanna fight me?" he sounded slightly amused.

He stared at her coldly, giving Tenten goosebumps with his eyes glaring daggers. His face moved closer, and he whispered in her ear,

"Get out of my sight before I kill you."

Tenten stepped back, at a complete loss. She stared up at the boy as he glared at her. Full of the instinct to run, she did so. She rushed past him and down the perfect cement sidewalk back to her home. She burst through the front door breathing heavily and continued running past the living room.

"Tenten? Sweetie, what happened?"

"Anou—j-just went for a run through the neighborhood, 'kaa-san, that's all!" she answered quickly, too dazed and scared to tell the truth.

"In your favorite skirt and top?"

"Umm, yeah," Tenten said hurriedly, ending the conversation fast. She was never good at lying to her parents, because it seldom happened that she found the guts to do so. She ran up the stairs all the way to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and walked over to her bed, falling upon it in exhaustion.

"How incredibly strange…scary…" Tenten whispered aloud.

_But however strange and scary that was, I'm still intrigued by this 'Hyuuga Neji'…It seems to me that he's as old as I am. But why wasn't he at the mall, like all the other kids? …well, I know one thing—when I meet him again, I wont run away and hide…_she cringed at her previous cowardice.

The sound of her mother calling "dinner's ready!" distracted her from her thoughts. Tenten got up and headed downstairs.

While Tenten was having her little adventure, Sakura was snoozing away, and having an extremely bizarre dream…

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

I am SOOOOOO SORRY! I had NO TIME to type this chapter this week! I said in at most a day; It's been what, 3 or 4! GAAH! Stupid procrastination/school functions/mom's "computerthe root of all evil" talks!  
ok, anyway, Neji seems like a mix between Prep and Rebel, doesn't he? What a fun combination! Hee hee…  
Expect Chapter 2 in the next week or so. But I wont make any promises, being the procrastinator I am…and who knows what my school may come up with to waste our free time…and also, I might get randomly grounded from the net…TT

**OK! Preview of Next Chapter!**

_The tree she was leaning on had vanished. She got up, rattled. She looked around. There was no one in sight, just an endless sea of white everywhere. She squinted, looking further, and spotted a door. It was plain and wooden, with a small glass window. There was a plaque above it, with the numbers 207…  
Running up to it, she opened the door slowly. As it opened, she could hear a whirling sound. When it was wide enough, an invisible force sucked her inside and slammed the door shut._

Tsune


	3. Chapter 2: The Dream

**Disclaimer**: See Prologue for all that crap. 

**Other Warnings**: This is an extremely short and fast chapter. I expect no reviews for it, because chapter Three will be posted right after this one. If you do bother to review, I will congratulate anyone who can interpret Sakura's dream accurately, cuz everything in it is symbolic. Anyway, let's get this over with.

**Chapter Two: The Dream, a.k.a. The Short Chapter That Will Make You Kill Me**

* * *

_While Tenten was having her little adventure, Sakura was snoozing away, and having an extremely bizarre dream…_**DREAM SEQUENCE…wOoOoOoOoOo…**

It started out normal. Well, normal for Sakura, anyway. She was positioned under her favorite tree, writing a nonsense poem.

Suddenly, she fell backward. The tree she was leaning on had vanished. She got up, rattled. She looked around. There was no one in sight, just an endless sea of white everywhere. She squinted, looking further, and spotted a door. It was plain and wooden, with a small glass window. There was a plaque above it, with the numbers 207…  
Running up to it, she opened the door slowly. As it opened, she could hear a whirling sound. When it was wide enough, an invisible force sucked her inside and slammed the door shut.

Sakura landed inside a room, and the door behind her shut and locked itself tight. She looked around and realized the whole room was painted black, floor to ceiling. There were many people in the room, but even though Sakura could see their faces, she could never recognize them again. They were all staring at her.

Sakura backed away and bumped into something. Turning around, she saw it was a one-eyed, masked scarecrow. It was talking to her, but she couldn't make out the words. It was just blurble, blurble, and blurble…

Weirded out, Sakura turned back to look at the other people. Surprisingly, they seemed to be bowing down, the girls to a regular blonde Barbie doll, and the boys to a stuffed animal that looked like a fox. After the people had finished worshipping, the Barbie and the stuffed fox pointed to something at the back of the room. It was a simple, rounded fan. The people turned to the fan and one of them walked over and picked it up. He began to tear up the harmless fan. The others jeered and shouted, seemingly pleased.

"What in the world are you— " puzzled, Sakura finally spoke, but no sound came out of her mouth. Instead, three little cherry blossom petals came floating out. Astonished, Sakura covered her mouth. The petals wafted over to where the fan now lay in tatters on the black floor. They landed on the fan, and in an instant, the rounded fan was restored, but now glowing red around the edges.

Sakura felt a sudden chill, and turned around quickly. A knife was raised above her, coming down swiftly to stab her in the back.

Then, she woke up with a scream.

**wOoOoOoOoOo…END DREAM SEQUENCE**

"Wow…weird…" she said to herself. She heard her mother calling her for dinner, and made her way to the dining room.

What she didn't know was that aside from the dream, things were only going to get **even more** bizarre and complicated…

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

None right now. Too busy writing the chapter that will make up for this one.

DON'T REVIEW UNTIL YOU READ CHAPTER THREE! THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I NEEDED TO GET OFF OF MY CHEST. CHAPTER THREE WILL BE UP VERY VERY VERY SOON.

**Preview of Next Chapter**

"_Otou-san and I think that you two need to go out. I heard from our neighbors that all of the teens in Peaceful Valley go to the mall to hang out. I can drive you there!" Her mother chirped._

_Sakura frowned. "The mall? We haven't gone to the mall for fun before…only for clothes."_

"_You two need to socialize and make some friends before High School starts. Go to the mall, Sakura!" her mother commanded as nicely as she could._

_Sakura fumed inwardly. She **really** didn't want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay in her room, brooding…_

Tsune


	4. Chapter 3: Peaceful Valley Mills

**Disclaimer**: See Prologue 

**Extra Warning: **Language and slight violence in this chapter. If you are 10 years old, I suggest you not read…XD

**Opening Thingy**

Ok, Chapter Three is here! Dang, this whole part took me forever to type…ya know, school and procrastination…all that crap. Anyway, here more characters appear! Yays! And this chapter will have two parts, because this chapter at the mall was too long and needed to be separated…and in this chapter shall be a SURPRISING TWIST!

Oh, and if you are reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!

Here we go…

**Chapter Three: Peaceful Valley Mills**

* * *

_What she didn't know was that aside from the dream, things were only going to get **even more** bizarre and complicated…_**THREE DAYS LATER…IN THE MORNING…**

"Good morning, Sakura, Tenten. Your school starts next week."

That was the first thing they heard from their father that day.

Tenten just stared at him, eyes drooping and tired. She was never a morning person, anyway. She shuffled to her spot on the table and slumped into her chair.

"I need the sugariest cereal that we own," Sakura made a grand entrance into the kitchen in a bad mood, "And black coffee."

"Sakura. You're too young to drink coffee." Her father said lazily while reading the paper.

"…Fine. Chocolate milk, then. EXTRA chocolate." She said resentfully and sat down at the breakfast table next to Tenten, who hadn't even touched her plate. She was just staring at it, not fully awake.

"At least you can pull off being _half_ asleep," Sakura groaned, "I only got three hours in before 'kaa-san woke me up."

"Why are we up this early again?" Tenten mumbled, looking at the clock. 6:55 am.

"Because," their mother explained, working on breakfast, "You need to start getting used to it. Your new school's classes begin at 8:00."

The two stared at her blankly. They had been displeased with their mother since their parents had informed them that they were to attend High School at the local "Twin Mountains Academy" downtown, and that their mother would no longer school them. At first they had been shocked, thinking that their parents were playing a cruel joke. Then when their parents had not started laughing at them, the two girls suddenly went into a very uncharacteristic silent tantrum. They hadn't spent time anywhere but their rooms, only speaking at meals and throwing fierce glances at their parents behind their backs. Nobutaro and Hua Lien didn't notice this at all. Sakura and Tenten decided that it was best to playact around their parents, being cheerful and optimistic on the outside. They didn't want to disappoint them, after all…plus, the girls' parents would never expect such behavior from their daughters.

"Okaa-san," Sakura said, "I had sudden inspiration in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep til three a.m."

"Well," her mother said briskly, "That means when school starts, you have to lay off the writing. More responsibility, you know!"

Sakura felt the urge to stab something with her fork. But both shock and confusion prevented her from fulfilling the temptation.

Tenten finally woke up.

"Woooah, wait. Does that mean I have to stop drawing?"

"Well…it would be good if you stopped for a while, to make room for your studies. Same with Sakura!" their mother explained.

It was Tenten's turn to feel complete and utter bloodlust. She wanted to throw her sausages out the window.

The girls both ate their breakfast, as fast as they could, and headed to their rooms afterward. They both fell onto their beds and stared at their ceilings.

…

Today, at about one o'clock pm, Hua Lien knocked on Sakura's door hurriedly.

"Ye-es?" Sakura asked in her sweetest voice possible.

"Otou-san and I think that you two need to go out. I heard from our neighbors that all of the teens in Peaceful Valley go to the mall to hang out. I can drive you there!"

Sakura frowned. "The mall? We haven't gone to the mall for _fun_ before…only for clothes."

"You two need to socialize and make some friends before High School starts. Go to the mall, Sakura!" her mother commanded as nicely as she could.

Sakura fumed inwardly. She _really_ didn't want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay in her room, brooding…

She put on a fake smile and opened the door to face her mother.

"Okay, kaa-san! It sounds like fun!"

Down the hall, Tenten's door opened.

"Ooh, are we going to the _mall_? Count me in!" she said, _too _cheerfully.

"I'm glad you girls are so up to this! Get changed, get in the car, and I'll drive you there!" Hua Lien said happily.

"It's ok, okaa-san. We can walk." Sakura chirped. She gave her mother a caramel-sweet smile and slammed the door. She then proceeded to get dressed.

"I haven't been to the mall in a while," Sakura thought, "Not since I had that growth spurt when I was 12. Otherwise, okaa-san always went alone to get us new clothes."

Quickly putting on a pair of printed red pants, a solid pink camisole, she tied a pink feather boa around her waist for a little flavor. She found a pair of glittery pink sandals and tied up her hair in a ponytail with a red rose hair tie. She liked the color pink, obviously. Her red rhinestone-studded bag was on the bedpost, with her trusty notebook inside. She grabbed that as well, opened her door, and headed down the stairs to the entrance hall.

Tenten was at the front door waiting. The brown-haired girl was in an emerald-green top with a printed white outline of lotuses. Apparently, Tenten had a thing for wearing gloves with holes, so today she was wearing white fishnet ones. Her sandals were also green and adorning one of her buns was a small white flower clip.

Just as a side note, these two girls had NO IDEA that their clothes were so "cool". They had no sense of fashion, but only worked with what they liked. But some of their outfits…well, _you_ wouldn't want to wear them in public…I know I wouldn't…

Anyway, Tenten's trusty tote bag was slung over her shoulder like always. She had on a tired expression, and Sakura returned it.

"Are you two sure that you can go alone?" their mother asked, stepping into the hallway.

"Of course!" they both chimed instantly, plastering a grin onto their faces.

"Well, see you later, 'kaa-san!" Sakura kissed her mother on the cheek and stepped out. Tenten did the same.

**Later**

After about 20 minutes, they found the "Peaceful Valley Mills"(like Opry Mills or Grapevine Mills…if you know what those are, you'll get it…). This was an enormous mall that took up the biggest lot in town. It was like it was picked up by an airplane from the middle of a big city and accidentally dropped in the middle of the mountains.

Sakura and Tenten stared for a while, then entered.

They passed the sliding doors that when you entered said "You are in entrance insert number here in neighborhood insert other number here . Please enjoy your stay at Peaceful Valley Mills!" in a mechanical woman's voice, and were astonished at the sight in front of them. Throngs and throngs of adolescents were chatting, hanging out, window shopping, and whatnot. They were laughing and joking and having a great time. Some were running around, chasing each other on the shiny, polished wood floor. Next to the faux waterfall at the Rainforest Café, a big group of teens were bunched together for a photo. The second before the camera flashed, a girl shoved the boy beside her into the coin-filled water with a huge SPLASH. Everyone around started laughing hysterically as the embarrassed young man hastily jumped out of the water, sopping wet and red in the face.

"Mom, _please._ If you come with me, I'll never be able to show my face here again! Just give me the money before anyone sees you!"

They overheard a desperate-sounding girl speaking to her plump-faced mother. The woman nodded sadly and handed over a wad of $20 bills. The girl squealed with glee and ran off without a second glance behind.

In the arcade next to them, Sakura and Tenten could see a huge DDR station. There was a crowd of people watching two girls dance, their feet rapidly moving and pressing the arrow buttons with perfect accuracy. The screen above read PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT! over and over again.

"Sakura," Tenten brought them both out of their daze, "I need to get some art supplies, and I know how much you hate coming with me to get them. So can you wait here for me? I'll be real quick."

Hesitantly, Sakura nodded. Tenten ran off to ask someone where the art supply store was, leaving her pink-haired sister standing there. Sakura shrugged and found an empty bench to sit on. Idle, she took a deep breath and blew out through her mouth, inflating her cheeks. She put her hands on her knees and surveyed her surroundings.

The mall was lit with a dim, cool orangey glow because of the large lamps in the rafters, and there were no windows. The mall was covered in bright colors, but softened by the dim light.

"Noisy" was an understatement. There were so many teens in one place, talking at the top of their voices. Sakura people-watched for a while, observing the teens hanging out and doing whatever.

After about 5 long minutes, Sakura began watching some boys in the indoor skate park across from the bench. There was one in particular, a blonde boy her age who could not stop glancing back at Sakura. He fell on his skateboard many times, but always laughed it off. Each time, the little group of boys with him laughed even more. The boy caught Sakura's eye and winked at her. She went bright red; she had never had a boy do that to her!

"Hmph."

Sakura looked to her left. There was a boy sitting about two feet next to her.

_When did he get here?_ She thought to herself, shifting closer to the edge of the bench.

"You're the one who moved into that new place." He said, eyes looking straight forward. Sakura froze in place. Was he talking to her?

"Uhm…yes…yes, my family did. How did you— "

"I live next door." He answered her question before she even finished asking it.

"…oh." Sakura said. She began to observe the boy more closely. His dark eyes were cold and daunting. They sent a shiver up Sakura's spine, even if they weren't looking at her. He had slightly messy black hair that was sticking out in the back. His skin was a bit pale, also. His clothes consisted of a black trench coat (in the summer,might Iadd) over a black shirt with a small symbol on the top right corner. Around fan. Odd.He also had black baggy jeans over black boots. Sakura couldn't help staring in confusion. Why so much black?

There was a moment of somewhat uncomfortable silence. Sakura's eyes wandered back to the blonde skater-boy. He was actually pretty cute, in a clumsy way…

"Don't let him fool you."

Sakura's head jerked back to face the black-wearing boy. She was slightly annoyed.Hadn't their conversation ended?

"Wh-what did you say?" she asked.

The boy's eyes shifted. He looked to his left, frowning deeply.

"I said, 'Don't let him fool you.' He's not what he seems." He said, grudgingly.

"Um…who are you talking about?"

"You know who. You've been staring at him for the past 10 minutes. That blonde idiot. Trust me, he doesn't need anymore fangirls."

The raven-haired teen gestured towards a huge group of girls that, surprisingly, Sakura hadn't noticed yet. They were all cheering and giggling and swooning.

"Go, Naruto-kun!"

"We LOVE you, Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto-kun is the BEST!"

The blonde boy returned the praises by grinning and puffing out his chest, which made him lose control and fall down again. All the teens laughed hard. He quickly got up and smiled like nothing happened. He walked over to the girls and blew one of them a cheesy kiss. The girl practically fell over. The boy casually strutted past the rest of them, and to Sakura's utter shock, walked straight over to her.

The blonde took Sakura's hand and kissed it lightly. An enormous dramatic gasp erupted from the crowd behind him, and Sakura felt a zillion pairs of eyes watching her. She felt the heat rise to her ears.

"Surely you must be the most beautiful creature to walk this planet," the boy said suavely. Sakura went even more scarlet, speechless.

Honestly, to Sakura this boy wasn't much of a looker. His short gold hair was messy and spiky, and his ears stuck out a bit. But his humor-filled indigo eyes made up for it. On the sides of his face were three lines that made him look like he had whiskers. His smile made you feel like you were looking at a mischievous fox.

"May I know your name?" he asked.

"S-Sakura…Haruno Sakura." She replied, stuttering. She really didn't have any attraction toward this boy, but she had never had someone just come up to her and say she's beautiful!

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service, Sakura…chan." The boy winked again, and Sakura's eyes widened.

"Tch. Typical…" the dark-haired boy next to Sakura finally muttered, just loud enough for the three of them to hear. Naruto then turned his attention toward the other boy, glaring.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said, addressing him. He had on a malicious smile.

"Uzumaki Dobe." The other responded.

Naruto's eye twitched. "I thought you'd never show your face in public again after…_last year._"

"Well, here I am," the other boy shrugged calmly, "So I guess that means that I don't give a shit, huh?"

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed lower. "What the hell do you think you're getting yourself into, Sasuke-teme? I'm _always_ gonna win."

"I think I'm just trying to enjoy my self at the local mall. And you aren't making my day any better, DOBE."

"Shut up, you bastard! Stop calling me that! I may not get the best grades in the class, but at least everyone likes _me_!"

"You get the _worst_ grades in the class. And they only like you because you make a complete fool of yourself just to make them look at you, DO-BE." The Uchiha emphasized the last two syllables so that everyone could hear.

Naruto finally snapped. "Shut the fuck up, you bastard!" he roared, and grabbed Sasuke by the collar. Sasuke's expression did not change. He only kept glaring at the boy in front of him. Naruto slammed him into the nearest wall.

Sakura, the poor, helpless witness to these events, stared at the two boys and their…colorful conversation. Never had her innocent ears heard such language in such a short period of time. How unfortunate for her…

"I'm gonna KILL YOU." Naruto growled. He spat on the Uchiha's shirt. Sasuke calmly wiped off the saliva and spread it over Naruto's face.

"Keep your freakin spit to yourself." He said. Naruto dug his knuckles further into Sasuke's shoulders, to the joyous shouts of the boys and girls behind him.

"Yeeeah! Go Naruto!"

"Kill that guy dead!"

"Do us all a favor!"

"Gladly," Naruto smiled, fury pulsating through his veins.

Sasuke just raised one eyebrow, looking bored. Uzumaki Naruto drew back a closed fist, ready to strike.

Then, a warm, trembling hand held it back He looked behind him and realized that it was Sakura's hand.

"What the--?" he exclaimed, turning around.

"Sorry," Sakura said, with a weak apologetic smile.

It happened in a split second, and before Naruto realized it, the pink haired girl gathered all the strength she could muster and drove her fist into the boy's gut. Another huge gasp erupted from the crowd. Groaning in pain, Naruto clutched his stomach.

"Y-you…how did…" he gasped. Sakura wanted to make sure he couldn't stand for a while, so…

She kneed him. HARD. In _that spot._

Naruto's eyes widened, in both shock and utter pain. He keeled over and whispered "Ow," in a very high-pitched voice. He then fell into a heap on the ground. His "posse" ran up to him and helped him up. Naruto was barely able to focus on anything but the pain. He wobbled away on the shoulders of two of his friends.

"You okay, boss?" one of them asked.

"Hm. So pathetic. Uchiha's so weak, he has to have a _girl _save him." Another commented.

"I'll—finish—you—later—Sasuke-teme…" Naruto groaned. "Ooh, the pain…"

Sakura shivered and turned to face the dark-haired boy. He was brushing himself off.

"Um…are you all right?" she asked, hesitantly. His attention came back to her. He stared.

"You didn't need to do that," he said coldly.

"Well…you weren't doing anything…and he was about to…"

"I could have handled that myself."

"I'm pretty much a black-belt, I know what to do— "

"You don't get it. I DIDN'T NEED YOUR HELP." He said venomously, glaring at her. "If I needed someone's help, don't you think I would have asked for it?"

"I was just…" Sakura trailed off, lost for words.

The boy stared fiercely and coldly straight into her eyes. Sakura felt another shiver tickle her spine and the back of her neck.

…

"**You're annoying**."

He trudged off, shoulders hunched while ignoring the stares that followed him.

Sakura stared after him, interested. Those eyes…so deep and full of past sorrow…Sakura could tell just from his eyes that he had many inner scars. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him, even though he had just insulted her. This boy intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him.

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

FINALLY! Chapter 3, complete!  
I love the mall. I especially love Grapevine Mills in Texas. I miss it sorely. So I wanted to put a mall just like it in my fanfic, but only for a while. The actual High School is coming up! Chapter 5! I'm writing it in my notebook as I speak! Well, as I type…um…I multitask…  
So…what do you all think of the surprising twist? Are you shocked? Angry? Interested? I wanted to write something different where Naruto is Mr. Popular, and Sasuke is the hated one. Oh, and my OC's appear in part 2…I'm nervous…I hope that you like them. I also hope that they aren't Mary Sue-like…  
Who will appear in the next chapter? Let's see…Hinata, OC's, and…a jounin sensei! Who will it be? STAY TUNED! …ha  
AND REVIEW!

**Preview of Next Chapter**

"_Uzumaki Naruto. The so-called 'heartthrob' of every school we've been to._

_"He's cute, funny, athletic, and not afraid to laugh at himself. In other words, the 'perfect guy.'" She droned, counting off her fingers and rolling her eyes. "As for Uchiha Sasuke…he's calloused, unemotional, a genius, and a complete ice cube. In other words, the 'undesirable nerd.'"_

_"So…do you all have a label, too?" Sakura asked hesitantly._

_"Yes…" Hinata said quietly, "We are…"_

_"…the rejected."_

Tsune


	5. Chapter 4: Uchiha Bonding

**Disclaimer**: See prologue.

**Opening Thingy**

Yay! I updated! Go me!

Thank you for your great reviews. Just keep 'em coming!

Ok, I know I promised Hinata and OC's in this chapter, but I had sudden inspiration to write this part last night. Plus, I want to get into Sasuke's character some more. So I got off my lazy butt and followed Sasuke as he left Peaceful Valley Mills. I wanted to write a Sasuke-centric chapter, anyway. So here it is.

**Warnings**: Ok, you see some OOC-ness, but it's intentional, and I don't think it's that bad. I mean, this IS an AU, and the people here are NOT ninjas. So there's no need to "measure your capacity -as a ninja-" if you aren't a ninja, right? So there. I just gave away who I'm gonna introduce. Whatever.

**Chapter Four: Uchiha Bonding**

* * *

_Sakura stared after him interestedly. Those eyes…so deep and full of past sorrow…Sakura could tell just from his eyes that he had many inner scars. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him, even though he had just insulted her. This boy intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him._

Evidently, Sakura decided against following him. It didn't seem like he would be the one to talk, anyway. She turned on her heel and walked away briskly to find her sister.

The dark-haired boy, on the other hand, continued to storm off to the exit. He really didn't feel like staying here, what with all the stares he received.  
_Why did I come here again?_  
He slouched past the sliding doors.

"You are in entrance—"

"Oh, shut the fuck up." He grumbled.

As he walked outside, the sun hit him directly with dazzling radiance. He used his hand to shield his dark eyes.

"Just my luck. Why couldn't they have forecasted a thunderstorm or something?"

His eyes became adjusted to the light, and he continued to walk away from the mall. His feet dragged along with a scratching sound, scuffing his boots. He didn't care. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and continued down the road, brooding away.

After a good five minutes, he was still trudging along on his way home. Sasuke stopped walking when he heard the hum of a car engine approaching. He turned his head slightly and saw a black convertible out of the corner of his eye. Sasuke continued to walk again, a bit faster this time. He sighed heavily, and murmured,

"Oh, spare me. Not _now_."

The black convertible with red leather seats pulled over next to Sasuke. The driver slowed down a bit to keep with his pace. Sasuke determinedly stared ahead, trying to ignore the vehicle.

"Yo!" a voice called from the front seat. "Hey, Sasuke, you going home? I'll give you a ride."

"No thanks, Itachi." Sasuke grumbled, eyes fixed on the pavement in front of him. (A/N: Yes, it is Itachi! He didn't kill his clan, by the way. How could he? He's not even a ninja in this AU!)

"Oh, I see. You're angsting again. Come on, bro, get in the car."

"No."

"Sasuke. It's going to rain soon, I heard it on the forecast. You'll get soaked."

"It's going to rain? Good. Then, I'll be able to drown myself." Sasuke scoffed, walking faster.

"Hey!" Itachi sped up a bit to catch up, "Don't say stupid things like that. Sasuke, I'm your older brother, and I say GET IN THE FREAKIN CAR."

Sasuke stopped. He exhaled loudly and opened the passenger door. Reluctantly, he sat in the front next to his brother.

As soon as the door closed, Itachi sped away like a madman. Sasuke was almost thrown backward out of the roofless car, but luckily, he held onto the sides of the red leather seat. He looked at his brother beside him. Itachi's long dark hair was blowing in the wind, and he had his favorite red-and-black, custom-made jacket on, which had a flaming red "A" emblazoned on the back.

The car took a sharp turn in one direction, and Sasuke frowned.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Oh, I just gotta pick up some friends," Itachi replied. His brother groaned.

"Damn it, Itachi, why did you have to join that stupid gang?" Sasuke complained.

"Akatsuki is NOT a gang." Itachi protested. "It's a band of antisocial adolescents, who come together like a family."

"There you go, sounding like a dictionary again. Why can't our family be NORMAL? Why did we all have to be geniuses?"

"What? You don't like being smarter than other people?" Itachi turned to look at his little brother. "I personally _enjoy_ being able to beat Kisame in scrabble."

"_Anyone_ can beat Kisame in scrabble." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He's got the IQ of a goldfish."

"Yeah, well…we both got 'top of the class' in middle school! Don't you enjoy being a genius?"

"Oh yes, of course I love beating the crap out of everyone in academics." Sasuke replied sarcastically, "I've been labeled the biggest nerd in our class history…"

"You have?"

"Yeah…"

At first, Itachi said nothing. Then, he started to laugh.

"I'd have thought they'd label you a 'goth' or 'punk', but a NERD? That's probably because you write so many goddamn poems! You're just another emo poet!"

"Shut up. Not even _they_ think I'm emo. I'm NOT emo. What have they labeled you, anyway?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Me? Oh, I've been able to retain my status as a 'badass punk'."

Sasuke cringed. "How is that possible? You were top of the class every single year."

"Yeah, but you forget that I've joined Akatsuki, _and_ about my special talent." The elder Uchiha swelled with pride.

Sasuke remained silent. Then, he slowly formed the words.

"What—does—DDR--have to do--with being--badass?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, look, there they are!" Itachi said, not answering Sasuke's question. A group of older teenagers were standing by the side of the road, in the same jackets as Itachi. The one with a blue face and gills turned and waved. Itachi pulled over next to them.

"It's quite sad that out of all of us SENIORS in Akatsuki, I'm the only one who can afford a car." Itachi said as he slowed down.

"Shut up, Uchiha." The girly-looking Deidara scoffed, "That's all your family's money."

"Yeah, so let us in the car, or we'll kick your rich little ass!" Zetsu growled from under his…plant?

"Yeah, whatever. But you'll have to survive sitting in the back, cuz my little bro is coming for a ride!" Itachi joked, ruffling Sasuke's hair. Sasuke rolled his eyes and slicked it back once Itachi stopped.

"Where's boss?"

"I think he said he's taking violin today," Kisame said.

"Yeah, he called me and said he couldn't come today. Imagine a guy like him, playing violin!" Sasori smirked. The rest of Akatsuki proceeded to snicker at the thought.

"I'll pass on this ride." Sasuke mumbled, getting out of the car.

"We're just a few miles from home, Sasuke. I can drop you off quickly." Itachi said.

"I don't care. I just don't want to ride with these clowns."

"Hey, you little—" Deidara was cut off by Itachi.

"Don't worry about him. He's just got to blow off some steam. He had to get saved by a girl today."

The whole group then let out an enormous roar of laughter. Sasuke resisted the urge to beat the living crap out of all of them, _especially_ his brother. The sky began to accumulate dark rain clouds.

"Hey, is he allowed to stay at the house alone without _adult supervision_?" Kisame laughed. "Since your parents aren't there?" This caused another roar of laughter.

The young Uchiha froze.

"_This is your fault, Sasuke!"_

Painful memories came flooding back. A rush of cold emotions flooded over him.

"_You did this! You murdered them!"_

Sasuke started to walk fast.

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke. Your parents died late last night."_

"_We of the Hyuuga clan mourn the death of your parents, Sasuke."_

He proceeded to walk faster.

"_YOU'RE A SELFISH BRAT, THAT'S WHY THEY'RE DEAD!"_

Sasuke felt a drop of water on his shoulder. He heard Itachi yelling his name, but he did not want to talk to his brother at all, not even look at him.

Another drop fell, on his head. It was going to rain. But he didn't care.

Then the black convertible, now with its hood up, came up next to Sasuke.

"Get in the car, it's raining!" Itachi called, but to no avail. Sasuke then went into a full sprint down the sidewalk toward his home. The car did not follow. Instead, it turned around and drove off to the Akatsuki's destination. Itachi gave up.

The rain began to pour down. It went slowly from big droplets to huge sheets of water falling from the grey sky. Sasuke was soaked to the skin. His boots splashed in puddles of rain as he made his way home. Water sprayed against his face, blurring his vision. His hair, now entirely drenched, was plastered against his head and neck. His bangs covered his eyes.  
Sasuke stopped and turned his head to the sky. He let the water fall on him and rinse away the anger from his experience in the mall. He wanted to wash away those memories of years ago, but it was impossible. It was his fault.

"Damn it." He said.

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

Ooo, angst! This was a bit of an angsty chapter, wasn't it? We fangirls love angst!

Well, anyway, I hope Itachi wasn't too OOC. But I'd like to imagine that he would have behaved like that if he was a normal teenager. I dunno. That's my opinion.

This chapter was pretty random, and off the top of my head. I wanted some interaction between brothers, so there it was. I'm pretty happy with it. Plus we get more of Sasuke's character! Yay for us!

**I don't feel like giving a preview anymore. So please, just REVIEW!**

Tsune


	6. Chapter 5: It's Nice to Meet You, Again

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own the brilliance that is Naruto…

**Opening Thingy**

Yeah, so I haven't updated in a while…(shot, stabbed, burned at the stake) sorry. GOD, since November? Geez, I guess I need to get on track, then…

**Warnings:** Nothing to warn about in this chapter. OOC-ness…maybe? And weird new character-ness…hmm…(suddenly craves Italian food) NejiTen in this one! …kinda.

**Just a note, though**: In this fanfiction, I plan to portray the "stereotyped" modern teenage population…as in those who worship Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton…aka the mindless "MTV-generation"…BUT, I am not IN ANY WAY saying that the ENTIRE teenage population is like this. This is just an extremely hilarious stereotype that I enjoy making fun of. So I don't want any flames, like: "Eeew, no I don't listen to that music/watch those movies! I h8 Britney! U suck! Not everybody is like that! You stupid prejudiced wh0re!11one". Obviously it's clear that you have no sense of humor.

Well, enough ranting…let's get on with the fic…

**Chapter Five: It's Nice to Meet You…Again.**

* * *

Tenten had reached a dilemma.

She needed to find an art store. She needed to find one NOW. She had broken her last easel when she got mad at her mother (who had told her that painting might bring down her future grades) and kicked the living crap out of the poor wooden structure. When questioned, she said that she had been dreaming last night of a kickboxing tournament and probably smashed it in her sleep. However nonsense this excuse was, her parents believed it, because, well… "Darling Tenten would never do something like that consciously!"

Oh, dear Mr. And Mrs. Haruno, how you underestimate the power of teenage hormones.

Either way, Tenten had gotten away with it and was on her way to buy a nice, new one. Something in black oak, she was thinking. Well, that is, if she could find someone to help her find the art supply store…

"It said when we walked in that they had EVERYTHING here. So WHY is EVERYTHING a clothing store?" she murmured under her breath crossly. She scanned the sea of teens she was walking through. Not one of them was alone. They all traveled in packs! Like some kind of animal species…lions, wolves, hyenas…all predators looking at her like she was prey. Fresh Meat.

No, that was just her imagination…but they did look at her strangely, though. They would glance at her with puzzled looks, and then whisper amongst themselves. For one of the first times in her life, Tenten felt a bit self-conscious. Thoughts raced through her head.

Why are they staring? Is there something wrong with the way I look? The way I walk? The way I breathe? Should I look back at them? Should I look away? Oh, god, what do I do?

Wrapped up in troubled thoughts, it was too late for her to realize that she was walking straight towards a timid-looking blue-violet haired girl in a white cashmere sweater and purple miniskirt with white sandals. This girl also seemed distracted by her own thoughts, therefore impact was sudden and unexpected. They were both walking fast, so the two girls were thrown backward maybe a couple of feet, landing square on their hindquarters.

"Aah—! "

"Ouch!"

It took Tenten a few moments to realize what had just happened. She looked around and saw that people were sniggering in their groups, trying not to be too loud. She went red with embarrassment.

"Oh…I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were there…" Tenten apologized to the pearly-eyed girl, helping her up.

"It's—It's okay…" the girl replied, "I'm used to _that_…"

"Well…I guess we were both preoccupied, huh?" Tenten forced a sheepish smile, still aware of the stares that she was getting.

"Yeah…" the other said distractedly. She was glancing around her, as if looking for someone. "Um…speaking of which, have you seen a-a boy…a blonde boy with deep blue eyes and three little lines on each cheek that make him look like a cute mischievous fox?" she finished the question with a deep red blush and a dreamy look on her face.

Tenten blinked. The purple-haired girl blushed even _deeper_ red and realized what she had said.

"Ah…! S-sorry…I-I got carried away…"she then began playing with her fingers nervously.

"Um…no, that's ok…I'll just pretend that I didn't hear that last bit…" Tenten was still slightly dazed from the impact. "And, no, I haven't seen a boy with that description…sorry…"

"Oh…ok…I guess he left…"

"But wait--! I don't even know your name yet!" Tenten smiled widely.

Talk about the wrong timing. But Tenten had just realized that this girl was alone, too! This was her chance to ask for help!

"Um…right…It's Hyuuga Hinata…"she replied.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Haruno Tenten!" Tenten gave a friendly smile and shook her hand. "Well, Hinata…could you help a new girl out?"

"S-sure…" Hinata said hesitantly, "It's not like I have anything else to do here…now that he's gone…" she mumbled, to no one in particular.

"Thanks, you don't know how much this helps me!" Tenten said gratefully. "Do you know where the art supply store is?"

Hinata gave her a curious look, silent. It was as if the question reminded her of someone else.

She snapped out of the daze and said, "Oh…oh, yes, there's one here. It doesn't have very good business, though…"

"Well, at least there _is_ one! Can you take me there?"

"Of course…Here, it's this way…" Hinata gestured behind her, and started off in that direction.

"Right, thanks…" Tenten said, following. She smiled to herself. She was amused that this girl always finished off her statements with barely audible afterthoughts. She seemed nice enough. A little shy, but that was fine.

"Maybe…I've found a potential friend…?" Tenten thought. She liked that idea.

* * *

About ten minutes of walking through the mall, (with Hinata giving a small description of each store at Tenten's request) and they were there. The store was simple and inconspicuous, crammed in between the Gap and Old Navy. Lamely named "Arto Fantastico", it was owned by a man in his mid-50's with a toothbrush moustache, a small French beret, quite large hand gestures while talking, and a very thick Italian accent. He claimed that he was the descendant of Michelangelo, though his art seemed similar to Picasso, except more confusing.

His name was Mr. Antonio Richetto, and he was in a very odd mood.

"Oho! Customers! Grazie, grazie! Thank you for coming to my humble store! May I interest you in one of my paintings?"

He gestured towards a blob of paint on a canvas that looked like a bowl of mushed fruit flying in space.

Hinata did nothing but stare, trying to find some hidden meaning. Maybe there was something in that big red dot near the top of the canvas? She turned her head to the side, analyzing with difficulty.

"Um…well…Impressionism really isn't my thing, Mr. Richetto…" Tenten said doubtfully.

"Oh? Well then, what about this? I call it 'Rembrandt's Wife'." He led them to a painting of an extremely ugly woman, probably drawn up from Richetto's imagination. Nothing was right with it. Proportions were terribly wrong. Her dress was a disgusting shade of green-orange. There were no fingers on her hands…

Tenten's eyes widened in horror. Hinata clasped a hand over her mouth. That color made her want to puke…

"Ah-ha! You, with the buns! You like it, no? I can see it, the way you gaze, mesmerized by my art!"

"Uh…" Tenten couldn't find the right words.

"M-Mr. Richetto…" Hinata tried, "We were actually looking for _supplies_, not artwork…"

"OH! You are artists! What do you need?" He boomed, overjoyed.

"Thanks, Hinata!" Tenten whispered to her comrade gratefully. "Mr. Richetto, I need a new easel. Do you have any in stock?" she asked, finally getting to the point.

"Oh, yes we do!" Richetto waved his arms enthusiastically, "Easels of all sizes! Big, Small, Collapsible, Rigid! What kind do you desire?"

"I'll need to see them before I buy them, sir…"

"Good! Then I'll—"

At that instant, a loud, shrill ring went out through the tiny store.

"Ah, but alas! The phone rings! No matter! I will call upon my _fantastico_ employee to assist you lovely ladies!" He paused and cleared his throat.

"Ahem—HYUUGA!"

"Yeah, yeah…" a teenage boy's voice answered, drawling from behind them. They turned to see that he was carrying an enormous cardboard box. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Mr. Richetto, the new 9x12 canvases are here…" he said, in a voice Tenten remembered. "And they're damn heavy, too. Why did you order 500?"

However, Richetto had sprinted off to answer the phone. The ringing ceased, and was replaced by the artist's booming voice going off rapidly in Italian.

The boy put the box down on the floor.

"So you need something, right—" he paused abruptly when his eyes came into contact with Tenten's. He looked at her for a long time, then focused his gaze at Hinata.

"Um…good afternoon, Neji-nii-san…" she stammered out, trying to avoid looking at him. He seemed to intimidate her.

"Hm. I didn't know you were interested in art, Hinata-sama." He said to her curtly.

"W-well, no, it's not me, it's…it's my new friend…" Hinata glanced at Tenten. "She's an artist, and her easel broke…so…um…we're here now…"

"IT'S YOU!" Tenten suddenly burst out, at the wrong time again, "YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SAID MY CLOTHES WERE WEIRD!" She pointed an accusing finger at the brown-haired, white-eyed, one-earringed boy in front of her.

There was a moment of silence. Uncomfortable silence for Hinata. Angry silence for Tenten. And irritating silence for Neji.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember meeting you before," the boy said calmly, "You must be mistaking me for someone else. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. May I ask your name?"

Tenten was speechless. Her mouth hung open and she looked at him like he was crazy. Hinata just kept looking back and forth from Neji to Tenten, utterly confused. Poor girl.

"B-but—you—I—the earring—the hair—you—" Tenten blinked and took a deep breath. She smiled brightly and said, "It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Haruno Tenten. Yours?"

"Hyuuga Neji." He held out a hand for her to shake.

Tenten took it, and while connected, she gave him a dirty look. He just smirked haughtily.

Letting go, they simultaneously crossed their arms, still watching each other.

"I believe Hinata-sama said something about an easel?" Neji started.

"Yes, mine broke, so I need a new one. Do you carry any in black oak?"

"Of course. Those are _this way_. Follow me."

The two went off, walking fast down the aisles, leaving poor Hinata behind.

"Um…wait for me…?" she tried, but just sighed and followed the two, walking normally.

**End of Chapter.**

* * *

**Author Note-ness**

Muahahahahahaa….I am so evil.

Why? Even I do not know.

Please REVIEW!

Tsune


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